Finland's Football Triathlon expanding internationally

The Football Triathlon World Championships have just been announced, a tournament that combines traditional football and esports as players engage in football, table football, and FIFA 18, expanding beyond its original borders of Finland to create local championship tournaments worldwide.

This idea has already received support from the likes of Business Finland, and seeks to combine the extensive fanbase of traditional sports with that of esports. It's also entering international markets with a licensing model, allowing for growth and seeing local organisers acquire a license before receiving rights and details instructions on how to arrange an event. Champions then go to the World Championships 2019 to compete for the highest prizes in the city of Tampere in Finland.

"The original idea was born from the love of the sport and from our own hobbies - we arranged the first test tournament in 2011. I spent an Erasmus exchange in Barcelona, Spain and during that time the idea of a bigger concept started to become clear. Nowadays our annual tournament is sold out in a few hours and the teams come from all corners of our country. We want to create a global phenomenon that can bring joy to all football lovers around the world. It has also been very exciting to see how much enthusiasm the concept has created in startup events like Slush and Arctic15 where we have participated during the last months," says Robert Niva, the CEO of HILLA Entertainment Oy.

Does this sound like a fun event to you?